Michael Brennan was arrested in Fort Meyers, Florida for domestic violence battery charges on Friday night and taken to the Lee County Jail. Michael Brennan is U.S. Southwest Florida Regional Director for Senator Marco Rubio. He has since been released after posting $1000 bail bond.

According to the police report, Kelly Brennan stated that she and her husband had gone out and left their kids with a babysitter. On the way back to their Bonita Springs home they started to argue in the car. Mrs. Brennan stated that when they pulled into the garage and she got out of the car, her husband pushed her to the garage floor, where she landed on a rug. Kelly then pretended that the fall had rendered her unconscious.

Michael Brennan then allegedly rolled up the carpet “as if I was dead or something,” said Kelly. He proceeded to hit and kick the rolled-up carpet containing his wife before retreating into the house. Kelly Brennan says she extracted herself from the rug when she heard Michael go into the house and went in after him. Inside, Michael Brennan denied his wife’s accusations in front of their startled babysitter. The couple’s children were asleep. Kelly says she asked Michael to leave and he conceded.
However, as soon as the babysitter left, Michael Brennan allegedly shoved Kelly into a corner of the wall, cutting her elbow. Blood found on the wall at elbow height is in accordance to this claim, as was Kelly’s swollen and bloody elbow and distraught demeanor when police arrived on scene. Police were responding to a 911 call that Kelly Brennan placed but then hung up on.

Kelly has since told investigators that she does not want to press charges against her husband and asked that charges be dropped. However, as is the case in most domestic violence calls, an arrest was made anyway.

Investigators used credit card records to locate Michael Brennan at a local Holiday Inn. He was arrested on the spot and taken to Lee County Jail, where he was booked on charges of domestic battery.

Through his criminal defense lawyer, Michael Brennan claims that the allegations against him are entirely false and that testimony from an unnamed witness and contradicts Kelly Brennan’s story. Michael, 39, and Kelly, 34, have been married for 7 years.

Brennan, who has run the Southwest Florida regional office for Senator Rubio since 2010, has officially tendered his resignation following the incident. Before resigning from his post, he had been put on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by the office, according to Rubio spokesperson Alex Conat.

Senator Marco Rubio has not commented on the situation. According to his website, he is currently in Haiti discussing rebuilding efforts with the country’s leaders. Rubio is a junior United States Senator and has previously served as a Speaker for the Florida House of Representatives.